Does Truth Really Matter in the End?
How to live in a world where truth is a journey more than a destination
I’ve been a seeker of truth for as long as I remember. It’s a quest shared by many people who see beyond the illusion of the world. There’s a sense that, somehow, beyond what lays clear in front of us, there’s a greater truth or wisdom to be found.
The problem is, I’m not sure I got that right. Something more important than truth has emerged.
What is truth anyway?
truth. noun. 1 : the real facts about something : the things that are true 2 : the quality or state of being true 3 : a statement or idea that is true or accepted as being true Merriam-Webster Dictionary
Definitions like this always feel empty, as they don’t reveal any deeper understanding of the thing you are trying to define.
Truth is one of the most paradoxical concepts. On the one hand, it feels fixed, sure, and conclusive. That you can point at something and say that it is true.
On the other hand, history is replete with cases of people saying one thing is true and only later to be proven otherwise.
There is a part of the population who are naturally cynical about truth because of our checkered history with it. So, when someone comes out with a theory on something, they will dispute that as truth because the people who are speaking it cannot be trusted.
This is how some demographics become easy targets for conspiracy theories. Untoward operators exploit people’s suspicion and doubt around truth and provide them with enough information to doubt the commonly held view.
Is this really a post-truth world?
The last couple of years have seen a degradation of respect for knowledge.
I have been personally challenged by friends who get behind conspiracy theories and pseudoscience, and then vehemently must convince others of their righteousness.
This world we live in is now commonly known as a “post-truth world.” The problem with this label is that it assumes the time we lived in before was grounded in truth. But I’m not sure that is or was the case.
Sure, perhaps journalism in the right hands was more reliable. Perhaps some politicians had enough of a moral compass to limit the stretching of truth.
But while those days may have appeared more truthful in comparison to now, we should not delude ourselves into thinking those days were Days of Truth.
Why truth is a red herring
Truth is more of a journey than a destination.
The thing about truth is that it isn’t fixed. It is a commonly held view about a situation based on the best information we have at the time.
Being fixed on any idea or opinion will lock one’s consciousness at a certain state and create blind spots that stop one from seeing new information as it arises.
One of the best outcomes of the pandemic for me has been to let go of the need for truth to provide me with certainty in an uncertain world. It’s forced me to look at life in new ways.
What the ancient philosophers would say
If you have chosen a simple life, don’t make a show of it. If you want to practice simplicity, do so quietly and for yourself, not for others. — Epictetus
Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth. — Marcus Aurelius
When reading Marcus Aurelius, Plato, Epictetus, and others, there is a noticeable lack of categorical statements of truth.
Their philosophies didn’t so much seek to define truth as much as how to live a more true life. Their philosophies are grounded in humility and practicality.
And while their wisdom may have survived the collapse of civilisations, they didn’t seek to convince people of their wisdom.
Epictetus felt it more important to demonstrate one’s wisdom through actions than to convince people of truth. The Meditations of Marcus Aurelius weren’t published until after his death — his life was more dedicated to understanding truth than making statements about it.
Seeing beyond the need for truth
The quest for truth is often little more than a noble but impotent attempt to create certainty in an inherently uncertain world.
There is power in humility. It is liberating to be able to say, “I don’t know.”
My new year’s resolution was to not talk about COVID. Of course, that didn’t last long. It is almost impossible to go anywhere without that being the primary topic of conversation.
But rather than pretend I know something I remind myself that I really have no idea. I take the best information at hand and make decisions on it.
I recognize that some of that information is reliable and other information may come to pass to be not so reliable. And that’s okay.
Instead of having this fixed idea of what truth is and getting emotionally off-balance by it, I’m simply going to try to do and be my best.
Let others have their own worth
The seed of this idea actually came from a weekly Stoic Letter by Darius Forous, “On the liberation of keeping things to yourself.”
He quotes and translates a Dutch saying, “Iemand in zijn waarde laten,” to “Leave someone in their own worth.”
I love this. I had been grappling with how to maintain friendships with people in my life who have been caught up in conspiracy theories in the name of truth.
It doesn’t mean I have to agree with them or even spend time with them. But I also don’t need to convince them of anything.
I think the most honest and empowering thing I can do is simply try to live my life quietly. To recognize that I don’t have a monopoly on truth. And that perhaps truth is more of a journey than a destination.